KOTA KINABALU: The Federal and Sabah governments have been urged to find long-term solutions to the diesel shortage problem in Sabah so that it does not recur again and stop providing piece-meal patch-work solutions.
STAR Sabah chief Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan made the call in response to the request for an additional eight million litres of diesel to Sabah’s normal July quota of 74 million litres by the Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Ministry (MDTCC) Sabah office.
First and foremost, he said the diesel shortage is chronic and crippling may factories and interrupting the daily lives of many Sabahans and may even have jeopardized the lives of some.
“Making a request for eight million additional litres is not acceptable given that the chronic shortage has caused long queues at petrol stations throughout Sabah for days and inconvenienced motorists being turned away at other stations that have run out of diesel. The additional diesel quota if approved does not resolve the problem long term,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Even before the shortage occurred, he said the MDTCC should have stand by and sent additional supplies and not allow any shortage to occur let alone allow the situation to get out of hand.
Jeffrey pointed out the diesel shortage is not a one-off affair but a frequent occurrence. The Federal Government need to find long-term solution to avert the shortage problem from recurring again in Sabah.
“The Sabah government should also be pro-active and take its own initiative to ensure that there are orderly and prompt deliveries of diesel and other petroleum products in Sabah and there will be no disruptions that disrupt the economy and cause hardship for the people in Sabah. It is the least the Sabah government should do not only as a responsible, people-caring government but because Sabah is an oil-producing nation within Malaysia, and things should not be left to the Federal or Malaya government alone.
“The government’s own excuse of diesel smuggling just exposes the weaknesses of the inefficiency and shortcomings of ESSZONE and ESSCOM. Theoretically, there should be no smuggling if the ESSZONE patrolling is effective. If diesel can escape detection, one fears for the safety of Sabahans when it comes to illegals coming and going into Sabah,” he said.
“If the diesel shortage is due to additional demand arising from increased productivity and production, it should have been projected and adequate supplies provided to cover for the additional demand as the shortages are not new but a frequent occurrence,” said Jeffrey.
“Previously, Petronas and the federal leaders as well as local Barisan leaders have defended the Federal Government’s stand that it will be unprofitable for Petronas to increase Sabah’s 5% cash payment and that Petronas and the country will go bankrupt if the cash payment is increased from the current 5%.
“The Federal Government and Petronas should now seriously consider giving back Sabah’s oil and gas and let Sabah manage its own oil and gas resources and then sit back without having to do any work and receive its share in reverse. After receiving RM18 billion in oil revenues in 2012 from Sabah’s oil and gas resources and still resulting in a chronic shortage of diesel, the Federal Government and Petronas have no business in managing Sabah’s oil and gas resources any further,” he said.